San Siro will be the acid test for the great Napoli led by Luciano Spalletti. The Partenopean team, the undisputed leader of Serie A and one of the sensations of the season on the Old Continent, faces a seven-time European Cup champion in the quarterfinals in an Italian duel in style and without precedents in the maximum continental competition.
There were better times in Milan, but the team coached by Stefano Pioli has the tools to make the best Naples in its history suffer. Without going any further, they met a few days ago in Serie A, with a resounding 4-0 victory for the ‘rossoneri’ at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium.
Milan defeated Antonio Conte’s Tottenham in the round of 16. A zero draw in the second leg in England that made the 1-0 first leg good, to access their first Champions League quarterfinals since the 2011/2012 season. The last time they cleared this stage, they won the competition. The ‘rossoneri’ are a complete team, capable of adapting to different situations and game schemes, but also with gaps.
They march fifth in Serie A, precisely very far from the partenopeos, who have the league in their hand. Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud are Stefano Pioli’s most differential footballers, who have a young and energetic squad, who will seek to repeat the league feat and beat Spalletti’s great Napoli once again.
The situation of the Neapolitans is quite different. They reach the first quarterfinals in their history and are the top-scoring team in the Champions League with 25 goals, ahead of important teams such as Bayern or Manchester City. Solo leader of Serie A with an abysmal difference over his pursuers and with decisive footballers who are blowing up the historical records of the partenopean group.
Its star, the Georgian Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, is already sought after by the big European clubs due to his unbalanced ability, which added to his determination in the box make him one of the biggest attractions on the ‘soccer planet’.
A San Siro sin ‘9’
Victor Osimhen is the other great differential factor of this Naples. He is the player who culminates the elaborate and worked plays from midfield and wingers. Except for a miracle, the Nigerian striker will not play against Milan due to a muscle injury.
Without a doubt, it will be a sensitive loss for Napoli, who, although they have a colorful and choral game in which everyone is the protagonist, usually finish their plays in the boots of Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen himself. Giovani Simeone also arrives between cotton, who was injured against Lecce, and leaves Spalletti with the obligation to carry out experiments in the attack zone.
Probable lineups:
Milan: Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria, Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Theo Hernández, Sandro Tonali, Krunic, Bennacer, Brahim Díaz, Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao.
Nápoles: Alex Meret, Di Lorenzo, Min-Jae Kim, Rahmani, Mario Rui, Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski, Hirving Lozano, Kvaratskhelia y Raspadori.
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Stadium. San Siro
TV: Movistar Champions League 2.